Assault and car theft crimes rise in Northern Territory

New crime data has revealed the biggest crimes being committed in the Northern Territory. See where they are happening and why.

Almost two motor vehicles a day were stolen in the Northern Territory last year a jump of 38 per cent from 2020.

Crime data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed here were 708 victims of motor vehicle theft recorded in 2021, bringing the numbers of victims back to similar levels, 700, recorded in 2019 prior to the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions.

Most thefts took place from an outbuilding or residential land including a driveway, carport, or garage.

The rates of car theft came as it was revealed almost 90 Australians a day were sexually assaulted last year – many during Covid lockdowns – but the Northern Territory was the only State or Territory where the number of victims fell.

Nationally the number of sex assault victims jumped 13 per cent to 31,118 in 2021, the highest ever recorded since the ABS started keeping crime data records 29 years ago.

The ABS Recorded Victims of Crime Report 2021 shows around the country there were six times more female victims of sexual assault than males.

And alarmingly, more than half of all victims were female and aged under 18 at the time of the attacks – targeted in homes, at times, during Covid restrictions. More than 80 per cent of victims were female.

More than a third (11,367) were recorded as family and domestic violence-related victim-survivors.

In the NT, the number of victims of sexual assault fell by four per cent or 15 victims, to a total of 355 victims in 2021. Of those most were female and more than a third were aged under 18 years at the date of the attack.

The report showed that more than half of the victims knew the offender (198 victims) and more than a third took place at a community location. Most incidents did not involve the use of a weapon and were family and domestic violence related.

Among the highest increases in sex assaults around the country were in Queensland where the number of victims jumped 35 per cent, followed by Victoria up 12 per cent, and Western Australia 17 per cent

The Head of Crime and Justice Statistics for the ABS, William Milne, said the number sexual assaults across the country in 2021 was the largest number recorded by police.

Mr Milne said it is the 10th year in a row the number of sexual assault victims has increased.

Females aged between 15 and 19 are most at risk of sexual assault and males of that age are most likely to be the perpetrators, according to Full Stop Australia.

Hayley Foster, chief executive of Full Stop Australia, which advocates on behalf of sexual assault victims, said its services saw an increase in calls regarding intrafamilial sexual assaults during Covid lockdowns.

“Sadly, these figures are not a surprise to us,” Ms Foster said.

However, while they saw an increase in intrafamilial abuse increased during the pandemic, she said the majority of under 18s who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by their partners and she said that was probably still the case during lockdown.

She said females aged between 15 and 19 are most at risk of sexual assault and males of that age are most likely to be the perpetrators.

Ms Foster said partners were allowed to visit home during lockdowns too.

She said that while Queensland recorded the highest increase, it may be down to better awareness of what sexual assault was and an improved confidence in the police and justice system to report incidents.

“Sexual assault is the fastest growing serious crime in the country,” Ms Foster said.

“This is a crisis that requires urgent attention and proper funding.”

Murders across the nation dropped seven per cent to the lowest rate since 1993 with only 370 victims of homicide and related offences – murder, attempted murder and manslaughter.

In the NT, there were 13 victims recorded and most were attempted homicides.

The majority of victims were male and the offences took place mostly at a community location. All involved the use of a weapon and more than half were family and domestic violence related.

Assaults rose by 10 per cent to 9054 victims in 2021. Most victims were female, over 18 years old and knew the offender. About half happened at a community location, more than half did not involve a weapon and almost two-thirds were family and domestic violence related.

There were 223 victims of robbery, an increase of 31 per cent on the previous year.

The majority of victims were people, 91 per cent, the remainder were organisations.

The number of victims of unlawful entry with intent increased by 27 per to 4745 victims in 2021. This increase returns the number of victims to similar levels recorded prior to the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions.

Most incidents of unlawful entry with intent did not involve the taking of property.

Police recorded 6503 victims of other theft in the NT an increase of 23 per cent bringing the number of victims to similar levels recorded in before Covid-19 restrictions.

Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munroe said the rise in sexual assaults could be “multi-factorial” - impacted on by the lack of mobility during Covid which also reduced the opportunities for random sex assaults.

“People are psychologically frustrated, their futures are uncertain, I think alcohol use and drug use escalated, with people self-medicating at home, and could have had some effect” said Dr Watson-Munroe.

The rise in other crimes including blackmail and extortion may be due to increased cybercrime and cyber stalking.

“People are getting random threats to expose them. Extortion is a function of the times. People are suffering out there and desperate times call for desperate measures for some people…,” said Dr Watson-Munroe.

“I think society is unravelling and there is an anarchistic attitude from some people. Some of the drivers (of crime) we are seeing are from desperate people.”

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the data was “sobering, particularly that the majority increase relates to children”.

“We know that as awareness of family, domestic and sexual violence increases, so too will reporting,” she added.

“I’m committed to working with my state and territory colleagues to finalise the next National Plan to reduce and ultimately end family, domestic and sexual violence.

“We don’t want the next generation of women and children to have to deal with this scourge.”

If you or anyone you know is in need or crisis please call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline 131 114.